12. Temple (Away, Sept. 12)<\/p>\n
A non-P4, non-conference road game with a noon kick? This was destined for the 12th slot. The last time Penn State played at Temple was far from a guaranteed victory though. The Owls pounded the Nittany Lions 27-10 while sacking Christian Hackenberg 10 times, including one with just two pass rushers. There\u2019s a couple big differences this time around. The 2015 Temple squad was perhaps the best in program history. They are in a much different place this far removed from the Matt Rhule era, and are coming off a 5-7 season that ended with a four-game skid. While Penn State is replacing plenty of talent from last year\u2019s offensive line, they will be much better than the sanction-era team that had to move defensive tackles to both starting guard spots, setting a Big Ten record for most sacks allowed in a single season. This time around should be much different, and there will likely be more blue and white in the crowd than red for the week two match-up.<\/p>\n
11. Buffalo (Home, Sept. 19)<\/p>\n
Penn State isn\u2019t likely to be challenged much in the three weeks of non-conference play to start the season. Buffalo comes to town following match-ups with Marshall and Temple. This is probably one of the few welcomed noon kicks for a Beaver Stadium game, as fans will be ready to get things wrapped up before moving on the Big Ten portion of the schedule.<\/p>\n
10. Marshall (Home, Sept. 5)<\/p>\n
The Thundering Herd have found some success in recent years, but are coming off a 5-7 season the year after winning the Sun Belt in 2024. Their roster was also picked through by P4 squads, and they will have much to figure out on both sides of the ball heading into the season. Penn State should be able to take care of business in the first game of the Matt Campbell era.<\/p>\n
9. Maryland (Away, Nov. 28)<\/p>\n
I used to resent that the Big Ten\u2019s attempts to create a rivalry between Michigan State and Penn State, and the fact they would close out the regular season against the Spartans. Be careful what you wish for, as I would gladly welcome a battle for the Land Grant Trophy instead of another finale against the Terps.<\/p>\n
8. Purdue (Home, Oct. 31) <\/p>\n
The Boilermakers have a long ways to go before making any noise in the Big Ten under Barry Odom. Despite all the roster turnover in Happy Valley, the Nittany Lions should be able to handle Purdue unless a complete disaster strikes. This game will be played on Halloween at Beaver Stadium, so we can at least count on seeing the Nittany Lion do the Thriller dance in his red jacket.<\/p>\n
7. Rutgers (Home, Nov. 21)<\/p>\n
The Scarlet Knights are typically closer to #12 on this list, but they deserve some credit after nearly taking down Penn State last season. In fact, the Nittany Lions likely lose and miss a bowl game if not for a fluky fourth quarter fumble where the ball just slipped out of than Athan Kaliakmanis\u2019 hand, resulting in a go-ahead touchdown for Penn State. The Nittany Lions get the Scarlet Knights for senior day, and will be looking to send off a special group who decided to stay with the program after a tumultuous 2025 campaign.<\/p>\n
6. Wisconsin (Home, Sept. 26)<\/p>\n
The Badgers showed signs of life toward the end of 2025, upsetting two ranked teams to put a sliver of hope on an otherwise dismal 4-8 season. Is this the year Luke Fickell finally turns things around in Madison, or are the Badgers poised to join the coaching carousel in 2026? Either way, the first Big Ten game of the Matt Campbell era and a Homecoming weekend in Happy Valley will bring plenty of excitement.<\/p>\n
5. Northwestern (Away, Oct. 2)<\/p>\n
It\u2019s time for some Friday Night Lights in Evanston! Northwestern will unveil its new Ryan Field to the world with a prime time showdown against the Nittany Lions. This should be an unusually ferentic atmosphere for a Northwestern home game considering the circumstances. The Wildcats landed the final blow of a disastrous start for the 2025 Penn State football season, as well as the James Franklin Era. They have also sneakily replicated the Iowa model for upsets, frustrating offenses into low-scoring affairs while they rely on a few key turnovers and big plays to steal a game here and there. They will give every ounce of effort to make it two in a row over Penn State.<\/p>\n
4. Minnesota (Home, Nov. 14)<\/p>\n
A late-season battle against a feisty Gophers squad could have major implications come mid-November. With only games against Rutgers and Maryland to close out the regular season in the following weeks, a victory over Minnesota may just help Penn State kick the doors open for a likely playoff berth. They will have their work cut out for them with so many new faces around, but it\u2019s certainly within reach with such a manageable schedule in Campbell\u2019s first season in Happy Valley. Fortunately for the Nittany Lions, they have a much better track record of playing Minnesota at home than on the road.<\/p>\n
3. Washington (Away, Nov. 7)<\/p>\n
This should easily be one of the most difficult games for the Nittany Lions this fall. The Huskies will be improved on both sides of the ball, and will have one of the nation\u2019s most electric playmakers in quarterback Demond Williams Jr. As we\u2019ve learned over the past two seasons, cross-country trips seem to be detrimental for just about everyone\u2019s chance at a victory. Penn State will need to bring its \u2018A\u2019 game and avoid a slow start to escape with a victory in this pivotal November contest.<\/p>\n
2. Michigan (Away, Oct. 17)<\/p>\n
This game is more of a \u20181B\u2019 than second on the list. By this time, we\u2019ll know the results of Penn State-USC, as well as potentially tricky match-ups with Wisconsin and Northwestern. The Nittany Lions have a chance to enter this game at 6-0, with a very manageable back half of the schedule. That would put this game firmly in the national spotlight. Both programs are in a similar situation, replacing their former head coach with a well-regarded hire. We can expect Michigan to play physical, smart football under Kyle Whittingham. The key to the season is if uber-talented quarterback Bryce Underwood can put it together for a breakthrough season. We should have an good idea of what to expect from the junior quarterback by this point.<\/p>\n
The Trojans replace Ohio State at the top of this list for several reasons – but primarily because the Buckeyes are absent from this year\u2019s schedule. With the Nittany Lions also missing Indiana and Oregon, this could be their stiffest test of the regular season. USC and Penn State have created instant classics in their last two match-ups, and this certainly has the potential to be yet another. Lincoln Riley could have his best team yet during his time with the Trojans, who will be led by quarterback Jordan Maiava, who enjoyed a breakout season in 2025. While nothing has been made official, it\u2019s hard to imagine this not being Penn State\u2019s whiteout game for 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"12. Temple (Away, Sept. 12) A non-P4, non-conference road game with a noon kick? This was destined for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":695282,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[399,398,396,397,24283,99],"class_list":["post-695281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-football","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-ncaafootball","tag-penn-state-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/695281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=695281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/695281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/695282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=695281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=695281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=695281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}